GREENFIELD — For almost four decades, Jeffery “Sam” Walden could be found just about any time in the school halls or behind the wheels of a bus.

This year, school is starting without a man who had become a seemingly permanent fixture in the district.

Walden, who started as a gym custodian and worked his way up to director of transportation and maintenance director, has retired after 37 years with the school district.

He said never imagined he would be there for so long but his mantra — “someone has to step up and do it, so I just do it” — kept him going.

Walden said he tried briefly to have a plan at the beginning of each day, but soon threw that idea out.

“I took things one day at time. I tried for a while to have a plan for when I got to work, but it always was changed as soon as I got there,” he said.

That’s not surprising, given that he oversaw five bus routes, a fleet of buses and an entire school district’s extracurricular schedule. Add to that ensuring dozens of classrooms in four buildings, two gyms, the football field and playground and school yards were in order.

His official title at retirement was director of transportation. It involved making certain the district’s buses were always operational, the routes were running smoothly, bus drivers were ready and up to date on training and organizing a busy extracurricular transportation schedule for Greenfield’s 450 students.

A rural school district as small as Greenfield’s has no room for extras in its budget, so Walden knew he had to step it up several years ago to help keep the district in the black.

“It’s hard to work through the cuts,” he remembered. “I tried to take on more responsibility and took over both positions eight or nine years ago.”

Since then, he has unofficially worn the hat of director of maintenance.

“The teachers never had to worry about their lighting, heat or even their Promethean boards, because Sam knew how to repair all of it,” Superintendent Kevin Bowman said. “Parents know that Sam has checked over each room and building and it is safe for their children.”

Over the course of his career, Walden recalls the supervisory work as one of his more challenging duties. Bowman said that while it may have been challenging, Walden was a true leader and was consulted on a multitude of issues,

“It takes an extraordinary person to earn this type of respect within a school and within a community,” Bowman said. “He is a real good school person; knows everything. He’s a quality person and well-respected.”

Bowman, a graduate of Greenfield High, remembers Walden as a staple during his time in the classroom.

“Greenfield students, staff, players, coaches and parents have been spoiled for a long time by Sam Walden’s efforts on their behalf,” he said. “He will truly be missed by the school district.”

A second challenging part of Walden’s job was to keep up with state mandates. Walden said that when new requirements were required of the district, there often was not the funding to implement them. Bowman came to count on Walden to “make it work” instead of just ordering new parts and equipment.

Even with the responsibility of keeping the physical aspects of the school operating, Walden knew what was most important about his job – the children.

“My favorite part of the job was working with the kids,” he said. He would always be ready to ensure that students had what they needed. Several years ago, a group of students were at risk of not being able to continue their track and field team, but Walden stepped up and served as a volunteer coach.

For the past few years, he was the pre-kindergarten bus driver.

“If you’re having a bad day, that all changes when you get around them,” Walden said.

An integral part of many school districts is a positive behavior program. Greenfield was ahead of its time with that concept, thanks to Walden.

“Sam initiated the positive behavioral interventions and supports in the bus garage about six years ago … the PBIS system fit right in with Sam Walden’s beliefs about how a school system should be positive for students,” Bowman said.

Before retiring, Walden realized the importance of passing on the intimate knowledge of his job to his replacement. The new director of transportation (and maintenance), Ron Plogger, has had the fortune of not having to jump right into his shoes. A year and a half of job shadowing has helped help ease the transition.

Plogger said he is excited for the school year and, just like Walden, knows the most important part of the job is the students.

Walden is known throughout the non-school community as well. He has been mayor pro tem of Rockbridge and has been a part of the town board for more than 15 years. He is also a captain for the Rockbridge Fire Department, for which he has volunteered for 25 years.

During his retirement, Walden plans to take things one day at a time, just as he did each day of his career. A jack of all trades, he likes doing woodworking projects and has already begun several. He also enjoys work on restoring antique tractors.

The biggest change will come this month as he stays home instead of heading off to school each day.

After being a Tiger for more than five decades, the 1979 alumnus will now have the title of Number One Tiger Fan.

“Sam’s an avid football fan. He took great pride in readying the field — making sure everything was right. He loved the team, and every year followed them everywhere. He’ll still go, but will miss the activities, especially playoffs,” Walden’s wife, Theresa, said.

Walden and his wife plan on doing some traveling and spending time with their sons.